Kaynath took the local bus to the location her tinder date had sent. It wasn't an obscure place and she was fairly sure she had been here, at least once. Still, 45 mins away, should be safe. She adjusted her sage green hijab and checked her face in her compact mirror and reapplied the lipstick though it was going to be wrecked anyways.

"Kochi! Fort Kochi!" the bus conductor yelled. He wore a khaki brown shirt and looked no more than his mid twenties. Long, black hair kept getting in his eyes and he pushed it away. He thumbed through colourful tickets no bigger than his index finger, all bound together like a mini booklet, and handed her a 20 Rupees ticket. Looking around, he yelled once more, and Kaynath stood up. The conductor pulled the string attached to the bell, signalling the driver to stop.

The bus stopped after a sharp lurch forwards during which Kaynath held on to the pole, steadying herself.

She got down and unlocked her phone, adjusting her purse and looking around.

I'm here. A little left to an ice cream stall in front of the beach, she texted and waited for a reply.

The beach was a little ahead of her and to the right stood rows of colourful stalls with little antique items, jewellery, miniature wooden animals, mostly elephants, hand woven bags and antique boxes. She eyed the box with a sigh, thinking of the collection of all the special chocolate boxes, tin cans and gift boxes she collected. She could add the wooden ones to them.

"Hey."

She reluctantly turned her attention to the boy on her right, and blinked once. "Oh! Hi. Kaynath," she said, extending her hand. He was cute, that much, she could admit, with bright brown eyes and smooth, dark skin. A silver stud in his left ear glinted in the light as he turned his head.

"Firoz," he took it, his brown eyes scanning her not-so-subtly as he led the way. Dressed in ripped faded blue jeans, she did admire he had a nice butt to look at and caught up to him.

"Is it close by?" she inquired, looking up at him.

"Yep," a ghost of a smile traced his lips. He took her hand and Kaynath bit her tongue, trying to hold back her words.

"Uh, why are we holding hands?" She tried to sound casual, but it came out rude.

"Oh, sorry!" he apologized, dropping it quickly and scratching the back of his neck. "I'm not, I don't know..."

"Oh, we are here to fuck, alright, nothing more," she replied impassively, waving her hand.

His smile grew wider as he led them to a hotel and they checked in. The receptionist noted their information, and stood up, grabbing a set of keys from the shelf. "How many days will you be staying?"

"Just the night," he replied, before she could.

Kaynath said nothing and took the keys, leading the way.

As soon as the door was locked, Firoz kissed her and she had to admit, as she gripped his arm, that this was terrible, and possibly on her list of top 10 worst kisses. He had come at her with such force that she had no time to anticipate and their teeth clashed before she adjusted to it. He smelt of garlic which made things worse and then shoved his tongue in her mouth, trying to move around, as though counting whether all her teeth were intact.

It was sloppy and wet, but she was not one to back away from anything. She pulled away. After all, she paid half the price and someone could do with better learning.

"You're terrible, so let me lead. Also, wash your fucking mouth. You stink of garlic."

He looked at her shocked, and nodded.

"Is this your first time? We can-" she started but he cut her off.

"No one has ever told me that before," he looked slightly dazed. He went to the washroom and locked the door. Kaynath scanned the room, walked to the window and peaked outside. Mildly tucked away from the bustle of the street, this one seemed to be at the end of the alley.

It was no different from the other rooms she had been to. A T.V was mounted on the wall and a bed with soft white sheets, and a comforter was neatly pulled up. A folded towel and a mini bottle of shampoo lay neatly on it. She kept her purse on the table and checked the time. 3:07 p.m. It was her day off, so she allowed herself some leniency to be back a little late and took off her hijab.

Firoz came out, smiling sheepishly, and went by her side.

"Washed your mouth?" she raised an eyebrow, shaking her curls loose.

He nodded and waited for her. "Yeah, I did." She sat on the bed and he followed her and she beckoned for him to come closer.

"Just follow me, okay? Don't try weird stuff."

He didn't respond as she pressed a kiss to his lips, drawing him close. He responded well enough, following her lead, and not trying anything else.

Good, he's doing alright. Seems a bit of an amateur, though.

She deepened the kiss, hands gripping his shirt. He let out a groan, and one of his hands reached up to grasp her curls and the other caressed her waist lightly. She broke apart again, breathing heavily, and frowned.

"Better," she mused, going in again. "At least your tongue isn't exploring to see whether I have all my teeth left or not."

"Ah, um-" he stuttered, clearly lost for words.

"Let's continue, I'll guide you."

She undressed and he stared shamelessly at her angular body, collarbones catching the afternoon light, filtering through the curtains, giving her a sharp jawline and angles. She guided his hand to her body, and he moaned. She sighed, as his hands traced her body and he kissed her neck, biting the soft spot.

"Stop, stop," she blew out a strand of hair that stuck to her cheek and was getting in her mouth.

"Tie your hair back, it keeps getting in my mouth."

He aggressively nodded and she noticed he had the same dark curls as the incessant, irritating girl from the morning who wouldn't stop yammering about her own shop. Anya, was it?

She raised a finger and pulled out her phone. She had to have an instagram. There couldn't possibly be someone as bizarre, who didn't know Kulsum's Confectionery was going to start a branch in Kochi. 

"Why am I looking her up?" she said out aloud, and then looked at Firoz, who looked annoyed, which only seemed to inflate as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"We're here to have fun," he mentioned pointedly. 

"Ah yes, just handling some confectionery business," she said offhandedly. 

"You're a confectioner?" he asked in surprise, hands brushing over her body lightly.

"I am," she rolled her eyes, willing himself to stop speaking. Alas, that was not to be, as her prayers fell on deaf ears.

"My grandmother was a confectioner too," he sighed with sadness and Kaynath had to keep from groaning. "I miss her so much."

She motioned for him to get on top of her and he did so, as though he were stuck on autopilot mode. "Come here, come closer."

"She taught me to catch fishes from our pond, sometimes I'd try them by upturning an umbrella and dipping it in," a lone tear rolled down his cheek and fell on her breasts. She flicked it away, trying not to cough in impatience. 

"She didn't even bake a cake for me before her death. I mean, it was my birthday and she had to die? Like isn't it the bare minimum to cook food for your grandson before passing away?"

Allah, help me, she groaned internally, facepalming. He didn't seem to notice at all.

She cupped his face with one hand and then looked at him deadpan, hoping he would get the hint. Apparently, he did not.

"My last fish died this March and I-" he continued.

"My dude, we are here to fuck, I'm not your therapist," she snapped finally.

Would I have to make jalebis after going home or ladoos? I'm going with the jalebis.

Black curls and stormy brown eyes flitted into her thoughts and she frowned. She was pretty, with her jasmines woven into her braids, but she was terrible at planning.

That's probably why she doesn't get anything done.

Every time she closed her eyes and kissed him, black hair and stormy eyes came to view. She tried to erase the image and thought of piping hot rice and paneer curry she would get to have once she got home. Every time she tried to think of something, Anya popped in like an uninvited visitor, yelling "Surprise!"

It was a fluke. It had to be. Plus, thinking about someone who was her potential rival during sex was a pain in the ass. She'd lose interest if she didn't stop soon.

Firoz had started kissing her stomach and looked up. "Can I take your pants off?"

"Go ahead," she motioned, her head plagued with thoughts as he slid off her pants. She was interrupted as she noticed him quickly moving away.

"You...don't shave?" he recoiled from her.

Kaynath pushed herself on her elbows and peered down at him. He hadn't even taken off her underwear and he was bailing? It was true, she didn't shave her legs as often anymore and sometimes she could hardly be bothered to. A sly smile crept on her face and got closer to him. "Aw, a little hair bothers you? Didn't you say you had sex before?"

"I-um" he stammered a little, as his voice caught. 

She scanned his legs and jutted her chin out. "Oh, and what's that? Not hair, I presume? Your legs look like an overgrown gorilla, except for the fact that you have some facial hair."

"But, I'm a man!" he protested feebly.

She put a finger to his lips, eyes glowing like hot, simmering ghee. "Shut up."

Closing her eyes she breathed in to calm herself and opened them, eyes soft, tracing a finger down his jaw. Payback was necessary but she had to physically restrain herself from slapping him.

"Let me do something for you, alright?" she murmured, touching him in places that made him gasp as he gripped the sheets.

The whole thing continued like a business transaction. Kaynath quickly dressed and pulled out her phone, texting her best friend, Niloufer, that she would be coming out in 10 minutes and gave her the address.

"So," Firoz said, buttoning his jeans, "I don't mean to be rude, but this is strictly no feelings."

"I never implied any," she snorted. "In fact, you're the one who brought it up."

Firoz looked dazed with his jaw dropped, eyes open wide. He recovered and then scoffed. "Oh, I didn't think you were a slut, but I see how it is."

Kaynath didn't respond at all, but stood up, and whispered low in his ear. "I fucked your sister too, so maybe you're calling her a slut too, is it?"

She walked out of the room and away from the mess she had been getting into, ever since curly black hair threaded with jasmines had stepped into her life. She made a note to get the wooden boxes she had spotted in the stalls and add to her ever growing collection.

***

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What do we think of Kaynath? She's such a badass and I've always wanted to write a sex positive asexual character!  Purposefully written bad sex scene because not all of them are amazing ahaha. So here she is, let me know what you think of her. P.S if you keep getting updates about this it's because I keep getting better ideas on execution so, apologies in advance! I did plan, but I have no control over these chaotic characters. If you've been following and reading along, you're amazing and I appreciate you so much. 

Want to read more amazing ONC books? I'll be promoting a new book each chapter!

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